International Journal of Infection
Year:2018 | Volume:5 | Issue:1|Papers Count:10

Background: Lactobacillus is the most important group of lactic acid bacteria that produce acid lactic through fermentation of glucose, which is an important process in dairy production. Due to the natural microbic ecosystems of milk, the traditional dairy products provide a suitable culture for growth and proliferation of Lactobacillus strains.Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate Lactobacillus species from domestic dairy products of Mahabad city.Methods: In this study, 90 samples of cheese, yogurt, and dough were collected from the nearby villages of Mahabad. For the isolation of Lactobacillus, samples were cultured in MRS agar and grown colonies were tested gram stain, catalase test, and morphology.Catalase-negative, grampositive, andwithout spores bacillus identificationandpurification. Then, oxidase tests, reduce nitrate, and oxidation-reduction was performed on the SIM medium. To identify species of Lactobacillus, growth in 15oC – 45oC, gas production from glucose with Durham tube to detect homo or hetero Fermentative, and fermentation Fructose, Maltose, Lactose, Galactose, Mannose, Ribose, Arabinose, Xylose, Cellobiose, Inositol, Mannitol, Melezitose, Melibiose, Raffinose, Rhamnose, Trehalose, Salicin, Glycerol and Gluconate and esculin hydrolysis were studied.Results: In 3 products, Lactobacillus plantarum strainwas identified, whichwasin cheese (46%) in comparisonwith yogurtanddough (respectively 13% and 36%).Conclusions: Basedonfindings in this study, Cheese provides better culture for growth and proliferation of Lactobacillus whencompared with yogurt and dough and the Lactobacillus plantarum strain was the most of milk microflora and traditional dairy products of Mahabad town.

Introduction: Nocardia cyriacigeorgica is a common environmental organism isolated from different clinical samples in Europe, Asia, and North America, predominantly from respiratory samples, but also from samples from several other sites.Case Presentation: In the current paper a disseminated Nocardia cyriacigeorgica infection in an immunocompromised patient was reported. The patient was admitted to the under study hospital with multiple cutaneous abscess such as lesion and paraspinal abscess developed to brain abscess.Conclusions: Nocardia cyriacigeorgica was isolated from a sample of skin lesion based on phenotypic properties and sequencing method. Limited cases ofNocardia cyriacigeorgica in Iran are reported.

Background: The gold standard for diagnosing malaria in Iran is using light microscopy; however, this method requires equipment, time and skilled microscopists. In some circumstances, rapid diagnostic test (RDTs) can be a proper substitute. Assessing the diagnostic performance of RDT relative to microscopy, for the diagnosis of malaria in Southeastern Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan, was the purpose of this study.Methods: From March to July 2016, which was a peak transmission season in Iran, 318 patients with suspected malaria were taken for a blood sample at the health center in Saravan, in Sistan and Baluchestan Province. The samples were surveyed instantly by light microscopy and RDT. Comparison analysis included: sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and other diagnostic screening performance measures for detecting malaria infections.Results: Of the 318 malaria cases (6.6%), 21 were identified by a microscopy compared to 22 of 318 (6.9%) by RDT. RDT sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of malaria were 95.5% (77.2% - 99.9%, 95% CI) and 100% (98.8% - 100%, 95% CI), respectively, compared to standard microscopy, the sensitivity and specificity forvivax malaria were 100% (79.4-100%, 95% CI) and 99.7% (98.14% - 99.99%, 95% CI), and forfalciparum malaria: 80% (28.4% - 99.5%, 95% CI) and 100% (98.8% - 100%, 95% CI). Two tests showed an amazing agreement with a kappa estimation of 0.975.Conclusions: The study proved that the RDT test performs appropriately for the identification of infections with P. falciparum and P. vivaxmalaria in cross-border malaria. Moreover, the RDT can be a useful instrument for the identification of new clinical cases of malaria in this region.

Background: The role of Staphylococcal enterotoxin E (Superantigen E) in rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis has been considered.This paper aimed at determiningStaphylococcal enterotoxin E in the synovial fluid of rheumatoid arthritis patients.Methods: In this study, 100 synovial fluid samples of patients with rheumatoid arthritis were examined. The primers pairs were designed based on theS. baureus enterotoxin type E (ent E) gene, GenBank: M21319.1. All samples were subjected to DNA extraction separately. Then, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was implemented. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics.Results: The PCR results indicated that Staphylococcal enterotoxin E gene existed in synovial fluid samples of 25% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, with a high percentage.Conclusions: The study results revealed that a high percentage of patients with rheumatoid arthritis have Staphylococcal enterotoxin type E gene in their synovial fluid. However, further studies are needed to assess otherStaphylococcal enterotoxins. This finding mayprovide a model for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis disease. The results of this study have presented some evidence regarding endogenous origin of involved superantigen in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Today, due to the increased drug resistance, plants are used for treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ethanol extract of Badrashbu (Dracocephalum moldavica) against strains of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia.Methods: Badrashbu plant extracts were prepared using a rotary device. Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia were isolated from nosocomial infection patients at hospitals of Zabol. The MIC and MBC of Badrashbu extracts in different concentrations of bacteria were determined by disk diffusion method.Results: The results of plant extracts showed that the highest MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) for E. coli isolates was 20 milligrams per milliliter, and 6 strains were inhibited at this concentration. The highest MIC forK. pneumonia was 40 milligrams per milliliter, and only one strain was inhibited at the concentration. This result can be used to treat the disease.Conclusions: The results of this study showed that Badrashbu extract inhibits Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia; so it can be used to reduce the plant disease.

Dear Editor, The emerging of infectious disease usually becomes the global public health threaten and a big concern in medicine.There are many diseases that become new emerging diseases in new settings. The migration of disease due to the good international transportation system is an important problem in infectious medicine in the present day. The practitioner has to update the knowledge and closely follow up the changing situation. At present, the interesting situation is the emerging arboviral infection. In 2016, Zika virus infection becomes the global issue (1).

Background: Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that causes toxoplasmosis. T. gondii can cause serious pathological effects in the fetus of infected women.Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM among pregnant women of Shush county, southwest of Iran.Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 276 pregnant women. IgG and IgM antibodies of T. gondii were measured by the Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. SPSS version 21 statistical software was used for data analysis and Chi-square test for significant differences.Results: Of 276 women, 85 (30.8%) and 2 (0.7%) were positive for IgG and IgM, respectively. Of 146 urban women, 43 (29.5%) were positive for IgG and of 130 rural women, 42 (32.3%) were positive for IgG. There was no significant difference between rural and urban women for IgG antibody (P>0.05). Also, 2 (1.4%) out of 146 urban women were positive for IgM. All of the 130 rural women were negative for IgM. No significant difference was found between rural and urban women for IgM antibody (P>0.05).Conclusions: The findings indicated there is a relatively high prevalence of T. gondii in the study pregnant women. Therefore, evaluation ofT. gondii before marriage and pregnancy is important for women and the health authorities of Shush County must pay more attention to control and prevention of the transmission of the parasite to individuals.

Dear Editor, Toxoplasma gondiiis an obligate intracellular member of phylum Apicomplexa, which is the most prevalent parasitic infection in humans and many warm blooded animal species, involving one-third of the world population, specifically in developing countries with the prevalence rate varying between 30% and 60% (1-3)….

Background: Surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis refers to a brief course of antibiotic given just before surgery. Surgical site infection increases the hospital stay and prophylaxis has the potential to shorten hospital stay and fasten return to normal activity after discharge from the hospital. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to observe and analyse antimicrobial prescription pattern in patients that had undergone surgery at a tertiary care hospital.Methods: This was a prospective case series study, with 200 patients irrespective of age or gender, presented to the surgical wards of a tertiary hospital and undergoing surgical intervention, conducted from October 2016 to April 2017. Permission of the institutional ethics committee was obtained before commencement of the study. Data was collected from all patients with the help of predesigned, pretested, and structured questionnaires. By comparison with international guidelines and national guidelines, the antibiotic prescription patterns were assessed. The researchers also observed whether a fixed protocol was followed for antimicrobial use for surgical prophylaxis.Results: Overall, 200 patients were studied, with a mean age of 40.2 and a range of 23 to 70 years old with 64% being males and 36% being females. The surgeries of these patients were hernioplast 36%, PCNL 8%, haemorrhoidectomy 20%, appendicectomy 4%, hydrocoel surgery 16%, lipoma excision 12%, and cholecystectomy 4%. The percentages of antibiotics used for these surgeries were cefotaxime 44%, amikacin 88%, ceftriaxone 52%, metronidazole 30%, and cefixime 54%. These were then compared with the International and National guidelines for surgical prophylaxis.Conclusions: Third generation cephalosporins were the preferred antibiotics for pre-operative use as well as for use in combination with aminoglycoside and metronidazole for better postoperative antibiotic coverage. This seems to be due to multiple factors in Indian settings, which makes Indian practitioners administer antibiotics for a prolonged duration.

Background: Blood-borne viral infection is a public health problem, especially in high-risk patients, including those with renal failure.Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of humanimmunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in patients undergoing hemodialysis.Methods: In this study, 94 patients were recruited and examined for HBV surface antigen (HBsAg), HCV antibodies (HCVAb), and HIV using ELISA assay. HCV positivity was confirmed via real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The patients were followed-up by testing their blood samples for HBsAg, HCVAb, and HIV on a monthly basis.Results: At the beginning of the study, 3 out of 94 (3.2%) patients were HBsAg positive. In addition, 4 out of 94 (4.3%) patients were HCVAb positive; HCV-positive patients were confirmed via RT-PCR. In addition, three new samples (2 males and 1 female) became HCVAb positive during the follow up. New cases of infection might be associated with exposure to inadequately sterilized dialysis.All the recruited patients were negative for HIV throughout the study.Conclusions: The prevalence of HBsAg and HCV positivity in subjects undergoing hemodialysis was comparable to most neighboring countries. Strict infection control measures should be taken to prevent infection transmission.